At
bombs away, the formation was hit by flak. It was thought, at first, that the
bombs had exploded under the #2 plane. However, they had apparently taken a
direct hit and immediately lost the right wing. We were also hit and lost all
power on the #1 engine and fire was noted.
I immediately gave a heading of 180° to get us headed towards our
emergency airstrip at Suwan, south of Sueol, It was later learned that five of
the ten crewmen bailed out of the #2 plane and were captured. Three survived
over three years as POW's. In 1995,1 was in contact (by mail and phone), with
the tail gunner...one of the survivors.
As
we approached Suwan, things looked better so we decided to go on to Taegu,
which had a longer runway, albeit still steel matting.
When we got near the airstrip the weather was such that we decided to let
down over the Sea of Japan and come back in under the clouds.
We
had created considerable excitement when it was learned that a
B29
, with one
engine out, was landing on their fighter strip, Meat wagons (ambulances) and
fire engines were positioned for action. When the gear was lowered, it was noted
that a chunk of rubber had been shot from one tire.
Since it was likely the tire would blow on landing, everyone prepared for
a crash landing. Fortunately, the tire did not blow and we managed to stop
before we ran out of steel matting. This was the only time we did not fly our
assigned plane (Tail #2253).
A
visual inspection of the plane over the next two days disclosed more than
80 holes. The #1 engine had the most damage. After 4 days, it was determined it
would take a long time to get the plane back in the air. They sent a C47 to
Korea to take us back to Japan.
About
this time, it had been decided bad weather bombing caused many problems, since
the radar available at the time was not very accurate. SHORAN was being used
with good results by B26 (twin engine) aircraft. Headquarters decided it should
be tried on B29
's. SHORAN (short range navigation) was a radar system using a
set of two ground stations as transponders. One set was used to determine a
course line and one as a "bombs away" signal.
Since
the signals were concentric circles, it was not an easy task to maintain the
course line (a continual curve) with the large 4-engine B29
. Since we were
already a lead crew, and I was the Squadron Navigator, it was directed that we
would be the initial test crew. Our Radar Operator was sent for
the special training and our plane was equipped with the SHORAN system.
Computations
were very complicated and took much time (today's computers did not exist of
course). They were made for a specific target, and for possible weather
problems, for 17,000 and 25. 000 feet. We spent most of the next month taking
four 500-pound bombs over Korea and dropping them, one at a time, on a bridge or
some other predetermined target.
We
made few direct hits, but it was decided it would suffice for formation pattern
bombing through an undercast. We were the only B29
crew trained for SHORAN, with
the only plane so modified, for some time. While this existed, if the target
broke visual, we would turn the formation over to the deputy lead and go bomb a
target of opportunity. The official reason was; they did not want to lose the
only SHORAN trained crew. Of course, we suspected the modified plane was
the thing they didn't want to lose.
To
further illustrate the reason for caution, consider the following: Our crew was
on rest leave, officers at the Gora Hotel in the Fujiyama foothills, and airmen
at another location. On the third day, we were contacted on the golf course and
told that a staff car was on the way to return us to the base. The rest of the
crew was also being returned.
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